Sacraments & Liturgy

The Apologist Who Believed Too Much

A sophomore apologetics assignment on Justin Martyr's First Apology cost me the church I was raised in. What chapter 66 says about the Eucharist.

Pope Saint Caius: The Twenty-Eighth Pope, the Ladder of Holy Orders, and the Emperor's Kinsman

Caius, or Gaius, the twenty-eighth pope (283–296), governed in the long peace before Diocletian's storm—a confessor, not a martyr, whose gravestone survives.

Pope Saint Eusebius: The Thirty-First Pope, the Schism Over the Lapsed, and the Enemy Exiled Beside Him

Eusebius, the thirty-first pope (309 or 310), reigned four months before the emperor Maxentius exiled him—and his rival Heraclius—over the fate of the lapsed.

Pope Saint Callixtus I: The Sixteenth Pope, the Slave Who Wore the Keys, and the Scandal of Mercy

Callixtus I is the sixteenth pope (c. 217–222): a former slave, convict, and cemetery administrator whose policy of readmitting grave sinners after penance scandalized the rigorists—and won.

Pope Saint Cornelius: The Twenty-First Pope, the Antipope Novatian, and the Church's Power to Forgive

Cornelius, the twenty-first pope (251–253), faced the rigorist antipope Novatian—and staked the Church's authority on its power to forgive the lapsed after penance.

Pope Saint Stephen I: The Twenty-Third Pope, the Rebaptism War, and the First Appeal to the Chair of Peter

Stephen I is the twenty-third pope (254–257): the rebaptism war with Cyprian, the first surviving papal appeal to the succession of Peter, and a martyrdom the earliest records do not support.

Why Catholics Confess to a Priest: A History of the Sacrament of Reconciliation

A scholarly Catholic history of the sacrament of reconciliation: its biblical, patristic, medieval, and Reformation roots, for curious Protestant readers.

Real Presence and Transubstantiation: What Catholics Actually Believe About the Eucharist

A Yale MDiv convert's case for the Real Presence and transubstantiation—steelmanning Zwingli, Calvin, Luther, Carson, and Mathison, then answering each.

Donatism: The Ancient Heresy That Still Haunts the Church

Donatism, the fourth-century heresy that rejected sacraments from sinful clergy—and Augustine's ex opere operato answer, which still refutes it today.

Confessional Ph.D. Programs in New Testament: Evangelical and Catholic Options Honestly Assessed

An honest guide to confessional PhD programs in New Testament studies — Baylor, Wheaton, Fuller, Dallas, Boston College, CUA, Fordham, and Marquette. Faculty, funding, placement ceilings, and trade-offs.

The Nicene Creed Explained: A Phrase-by-Phrase Guide to the Church’s Central Confession

What does the Nicene Creed mean? A Catholic phrase-by-phrase guide to the full text of the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed — its history, theology, and why it still matters.

The Divine Liturgy Explained

What happens in an Orthodox Divine Liturgy? A guide to the structure, theology, and meaning of Eastern Christian worship.

The Eastern Catholic Churches

What are the Eastern Catholic Churches? A comprehensive guide to the 23 sui iuris churches in communion with Rome — their history, liturgy, theology, and role in Catholic-Orthodox ecumenism.

The Orthodox Christian Calendar and Feasts

A guide to the Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar — the Twelve Great Feasts, fasting periods, Pascha, and how the Church sanctifies time.

Orthodox Easter vs. Catholic Easter

Why do Orthodox and Catholic Easter fall on different dates? Explore the calendar, theology, and liturgical differences between Pascha and Easter.

Orthodox Fasting

A comprehensive guide to fasting in the Eastern Orthodox Church — the four major fasting periods, weekly fasts, dietary rules, and the spiritual theology behind Orthodox asceticism.

Can You Lose Your Salvation? Catholic Teaching

Can a Christian lose their salvation? The Catholic Church teaches that mortal sin can sever one's relationship with God — but that grace can always be restored through repentance.

Married Clergy: Progressive or Ultra-Traditional?

Are Catholic priests allowed to be married? In the Latin Rite, no; in the 22 Eastern Catholic churches in communion with Rome, yes. A short reflection on whether restoring married Latin clergy would be reform or return.

Getting Acquainted with the Latin Mass Crowd

Understanding the Latin Mass devotion within Catholicism: reverence, tradition, and the need for submission to the Church's authority.

Married Priests and De-Innovating the Catholic Church

Married priests are a de-innovation, not an innovation. Explore why the celibacy requirement is a late tradition, how the Orthodox example informs Catholic practice, and what traditionalists fear.

Keep 'X' in 'Xmas'

The Greek origins of 'Xmas,' why culture wars distract from Christian witness, and what believers are actually called to do at Christmas.